


Who are You?

by zachlorthan



Series: Random Character Interactions [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-14 19:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5755966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zachlorthan/pseuds/zachlorthan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Weiss has a moment of clarity with Ruby as she tries to figure out who she is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ruby/weiss, who are you?

Weiss stood alone in a large, dark room. she held her sword out in front of her, her posture perfectly straight. She glared at the point of her sword, daring it to waiver. It was motionless, despite how weak she felt. she breathed slowly outward, closing her eyes and emptying her lungs. as soon as she felt the last vestiges of air escape her, she sucked in a big breath, and concentrated. A flickering glygh appeared on the floor in front of her, about 3 feet in diameter.  
Silently, Weiss willed it to stabilize. she felt no immediate drop in her strength. She took that as a good sign. She breathed again. the glyph began to spin, slowly at first, then faster. She focused on her intent, the finished product. From the center of the glyph, light poured out, lighting the room in soft blue. As she breathed, a hand shot forth from the glyph, a large, clawed arm, the same color as the glyph.  
Weiss forced herself to remain calm, if she got excited, it would explode. The hand was followed by an arm, which seamed to pull something after it. From the glyph, a Beowulf began to emerge. she had to work to stay calm. In another few seconds, a seven foot tall Grimm was standing before her staring at her. The glyph faded, and Weiss exhaled. suddenly, she was struck by a wave of fatigue. she dropped, the Beowulf giving a mournful howl as it exploded in a starburst of light.  
She cursed, breathing hard. Suddenly, she was soaked in sweat and undeniably weak. Carefully, she stood, her legs shaking as they took on her weight. She moved around, slowly taking steps in small circles till the trembling stopped. She had decided that being able to summon was almost worse than not being able to summon. at least before, all that happened when she failed was a fading glyph. now whenever she couldn't maintain it, she almost passed out. She had yet to have a success.  
"you're getting better."  
Weiss jumped at the voice. Behind her, in the door to the dark room, was the silhouette of Ruby, framed by light from the hallway beyond.  
"better, is not good enough." Weiss muttered, leaning on her sword like a cane.  
"oh, stop whining. after all this time with us, even you know that's not true."  
she flipped a switch on the wall. The windows, which had been covered a moment before, were revealed. light filtered into the room, the color of the setting sun. Weiss was surprised.  
"what time is it?"  
"oh, 8:30, 9-ish. You've been in here for the better part of 12 hours. To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised your still standing.  
Weiss shook her head. "you're not the only one." then when she noticed the bag under Ruby's arm. "what's that?"  
"thought that you could use some food after all this time." she looked pointedly at the small pile of protein bar wrappers next to the bench alongside one wall.  
"what? It works."  
"for short periods of time. You need an actual meal once in a while." she pulled the bag off of her arm, setting on the floor next to the wrapper mountain, and began pulling food out. Weiss sat on the floor, her back leaning against the smooth wall. She felt comfortable enough. Ruby used the bench as a prep station, and soon had two full plates of food with provided utensils laid out. She handed Weiss a plate with some pieces of chicken and a scoop of rice. some steamed vegetables accompanied them.  
Weiss was grateful for her partners ability to cook. She had never bothered to learn herself. she accepted the food graciously and began to tear into it, ignoring the heat of the food scorching her mouth. A bottle of ice water appeared within her reach. She grabbed it, ripped the cap off and drank till the burning stopped, then repeated the process.  
Ruby watched this all impassively, doing little more that picking at her own food. Weiss noticed a small stack of cookies was set next to Ruby's plate. long gone were the days when Weiss would eat carefully and daintily in the company of her team mates. It had come down to actually being able to finish her food. Yang burned so many calories just because of her semblance that she had to almost constantly eat. She and Ruby always had snacks hidden in their clothes.  
Weiss had learned quickly that is you didn't finish before Yang, Yang would finish for you.  
"so," Ruby said between bites," it got all the way out of the glyph this time."  
Weiss nodded, giving her mouth a moment to recuperate. her aura would prevent any further damage, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. "it was bigger than i expected. I probably would have had it that time if i wasn't so tired."  
Ruby said nothing, occupying herself with a carrot. While she wasn't looking, Weiss grabbed a cookie from the stack, popping it into her mouth just as she turned back.  
"hey!"  
Weiss smirked, which wasn't easy to do with her mouth full. she swallowed. "pay more attention, and you wont lose your cookies."  
it was a familiar ritual between them, which ended the same way it always did. Ruby looked crestfallen that her 8 cookie stack now had 7 cookies. Weiss couldn't help but laugh, and when she did, Ruby's face brightened.  
"so how has your day been? i haven't seen you since this morning."  
"slow. Although it was getting better. That was the fifth one in a row that actually looked like something. it's getting harder though. Like something is pushing back."  
"are you sure it's something else? You seam to be pretty reluctant to use this part of your semblance."  
Weiss was ready to argue, she she didn't. Ruby was right about that. Everyone in her father's family had this power. to her, it had always represented what made her like her father. She had been reluctant enough simply to use her semblance in the begining. Even though her leaving her family to study at Beacon had felt like a rebellion, Weiss couldn't help but feel like she was just doing what she was because of who she was born to be, not who she wanted to be.  
if that was the case, how was she any different than her father?  
"it's just that, this isn't something i wanted. It isn't who i wanted to be."  
"who did you want to be, Weiss? Who are you right now?"  
she turned to see Ruby looking at her intently, honestly wanting an answer. Weiss leaned her head against the wall, contemplating. who was she?  
for some reason, she found herself thinking about her time in the forest, when she had met Ruby. She scoffed at herself, remembering how she had turned Ruby away, then accepted her over the alternative. she had, in the following weeks, scorned Ruby and her own position, acting like a spoiled rich girl brat. She had changed little in the first month, other than trying to get along with her team.  
that had been followed by several months of her teachings and training. A couple of sessions with Yang that had proven to much for her. Blake had tried to help her out, but their personalities and ideals had proven to be... conflicting. Ruby, on the other hand, had been openly persistent, always pushing her to be better, to practice harder. Weiss would have required a lot more training before being able to use time distortion glyphs, if it hadn't been for Ruby.  
then, when she had found out Blake was a faunus, followed by the disastrous trip to Mountain Glenn, she had been beaten so easily by the man with the chainsaw. her anger at that had got her through the subsequent battle with the Grimm in the town square.  
so much of who she was had been determine by her failures, as either a person, or a fighter, or a daughter. she was so tired of being determined by her weaknesses, that she had an even harder time finding her strengths. she glanced back over at Ruby, who was still waiting patiently.  
"my name is Weiss schnee. I'm a huntress in training. Part of team RWBY, partner to Ruby Rose. I've been all over the world, fighting Grimm, or with family, or with my team. I've scorned and scoffed at people less fortunate than i am, and have been scorned and scoffed at for my position next to my father. I've suffered failures so numerous I've lost count," she gave a sideways glance at Ruby, who hadn't moved. The lengthening shadows covered much of her face, and she couldn't get a good look at her expression. "I've been helped innumerable times, by all manner of people. i rarely do anything for myself, even training. I'm pushed forward by my team. so, Ruby, I'll ask you. Who do you think i am?"  
Ruby was silent, her face still hidden. Her hands rested lightly on her knees, no motion. her breathing was easy. "you're Weiss Schnee, a huntress in training. you're part of my family, and among the few people i trust the most. You've been the reason why i try as hard as i can as a leader. you push me to be more than i am, and to aim higher than i ever thought possible. our team is a structure bound so tightly it's become unthinkable to assume what it would be like without one or more of us..... you're the best friend I've ever had. Maybe the only real friend I've ever had."  
Weiss was silent. The words had washed over her, her breath easing. she felt strong again. She smiled. "i don't know about the rest. But as for that last part, you have been my one and only friend, since day one. i'll amend myself. i count everyone from our team, and team JNPR as friends. But you were the first."  
Ruby leaned forward, the last of the dying light playing across her pale face. her expression was one of euphoria. Weiss had no idea why she was so happy, but she smiled back.  
Ruby asked, "there should still be time for you to try one more. Wanna give it a go?"  
Weiss nodded, standing up. her steps were strong, and she felt good after the food and conversation. She walked to the middle of the room as the last of the light faded from the windows, bringing about a soft twilight. She stood firm, concentrating. The glyph itself came easily. it was steady, without flickering. She breathed.  
the glyph began to spin, emitting a pulsing blue light as it did so. Weiss, feeling reluctant to move any farther, forced herself to remember that she wasn't alone. She took one deep breath, then pushed. Again, the hand appeared from the center of the glyph, beautiful ice-blue fur spreading down the length of the arm that followed. It emerged, growling as it pulled itself to its full height. It stood staring at her, patiently. the glyph faded, the light quieted. It glowed in the night.  
Weiss heard the shift of cloth as Ruby stood. she turned to speak.... and the fatigue hit. This time, it was so sudden, she blacked out. The last sound she heard was the mournful keening of her creation as she fell... Into a pair of arms.  
she woke several hours later, finding herself in her bed. She was groggy. she tried to sit up, and her head pounded. she wiped her eyes, reaching for the glass of water she kept next to her bed. Her hand was met with empty air. she tried again. nothing. She glanced to her left, and squeaked. She was on the top bunk. the top bunk was Ruby's bunk. She glanced over the edge, looking down into her own bed.... which was empty.  
she glanced over at Yang's bunk, which was currently occupied by both Blake and Yang, who had taken to sleeping together after the incident in Mountain Glenn. as far as Weiss knew, they didn't have any sort of romantic relationship, so she found it odd that the two would do that.... which brought her to her current concern. Blake's bunk was also empty. she had put off looking for as long as she could, and no turned to her right.  
sure enough, laying with her back to Weiss, dressed in her pajamas, was Ruby. Weiss also noticed that Ruby's hood was draped over her own body like a blanket. She blushed deeply, and considered trying to slip out of the bed, but she was still groggy. with her currently luck, she would crash to the floor, break an arm or something equally embarrassing. So she decided to simply lay back down. She glanced back at Ruby.  
she slept on her right side, both hands splayed out in front of her, one palm up, the other palm down. Her side Rose and fell with her breathing, which shifted from fast to slow as she dreamed. Weiss couldn't see her face, and she was curious as to how she looked. Carefully, she lifted herself over Ruby, trying not to disturb the sheets.  
what she saw was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Ruby's face was calm, smooth. Her eyes closed. She looked like she was ready to wake up at any moment. Her mouth was partway open, the air trailing in and out, softly. her hair was swept to one side, and her pale skin seamed to glow in the dark. Weiss stared at her for a moment. then, almost guiltily, she kissed her on the cheek.  
as she re-positioned herself, laying back down, she curled one hand over Ruby's stomach, and her face was pressed lightly into her partners back. Sleep was not long in coming, and she dreamed of colors.


	2. ruby/weiss, Who are you? edited.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> same as the first, just fixed.

Weiss stood alone in a large, dark room. She held her sword out in front of her, her posture perfectly straight. She glared at the point of her sword, daring it to waiver. It was motionless, despite how weak she felt. She breathed slowly outward, closing her eyes and emptying her lungs. As soon as she felt the last vestiges of air escape her, she sucked in a big breath, and concentrated. A flickering glyph appeared on the floor in front of her, about 3 feet in diameter.

Silently, Weiss willed it to stabilize. She felt no immediate drop in her strength. She took that as a good sign. She breathed again. The glyph began to spin, slowly at first, then faster. She focused on her intent, the finished product. From the center of the glyph, light poured out, lighting the room in soft blue. As she breathed, a hand shot forth from the glygh, a large, clawed arm, the same color as the glyph.

Weiss forced herself to remain calm, if she got excited, it would explode. The hand was followed by an arm, which seemed to pull something after it. From the glyph, a Beowulf began to emerge. She had to work to stay calm. In another few seconds, a seven foot tall Grimm was standing before her, looking silently down at her. The glyph faded, and Weiss exhaled.

Suddenly, she was struck by a wave of fatigue. She dropped, the Beowulf giving a mournful howl as it exploded.

She cursed, breathing hard. She was soaked in sweat and undeniably weak. Carefully, she stood, her legs shaking as they took on her weight. She moved around, taking steps in small circles till the trembling stopped. She had decided that being able to summon was almost worse than not being able to summon. At least before, all that happened when she failed was a fading glyph. Now whenever she couldn't maintain it, she almost passed out. She had yet to have a real success.

"You're getting better."  
Weiss jumped at the voice. Behind her, in the door to the dark room, was the silhouette of Ruby, framed by light from the hallway beyond.

"Better........ is not good enough." Weiss muttered, leaning on her sword like a cane.  
"Oh, stop whining. After all this time with us, even you know that's not true."  
She flipped a switch on the wall. The windows, which had been covered a moment before, were revealed. Light filtered into the room, the color of the setting sun. Weiss was surprised.  
"What time is it?"  
"Oh, 8:30, 9-ish. You've been in here for the better part of 12 hours. To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised your still standing.  
Weiss shook her head. "You're not the only one."  
Then she noticed the bag under Ruby's arm. "What's that?"  
"I thought you could use some food after all this time."  
She looked pointedly at the small pile of protein bar wrappers next to the bench alongside one wall.  
"What? It works."  
"For a while, sure, but you need an actual meal once in a while."

She pulled the bag off of her arm, setting it on the floor next to the wrapper mountain, and began pulling food out. Weiss sat on the floor, her back leaning against the smooth wall. She felt comfortable enough, but she was exhausted from practicing all day with only breaks to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom.

Ruby used the bench as a prep station, and soon had two full plates of food with provided utensils laid out. She handed Weiss a plate with some pieces of chicken and a scoop of rice. Some steamed vegetables accompanied them.

Weiss was grateful for her partners ability to cook. She had never bothered to learn herself. She accepted the food graciously and began to tear into it, ignoring the heat of the food scorching her mouth. A bottle of ice water appeared within her reach. She grabbed it, ripped the cap off and drank till the burning stopped, then repeated the process.

Ruby watched this impassively, doing little more that picking at her own food. Weiss noticed a small stack of cookies was set next to Ruby's plate. Long gone were the days when Weiss would eat carefully and daintily in the company of her team mates. It had come down to actually being able to finish her food. Yang burned so many calories just because of her semblance that she had to almost constantly eat. She and Ruby always had snacks hidden in their clothes.

Weiss had learned quickly that if you didn't finish before Yang, Yang would finish for you.  
"So," Ruby said between bites, "It got all the way out of the glyph this time."  
Weiss nodded, giving her mouth a moment to recuperate. Her aura would prevent any further damage, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. "It was bigger than I expected. I probably would have had it that time if I wasn't so tired."

Ruby said nothing, occupying herself with a carrot. While she wasn't looking, Weiss grabbed a cookie from the stack, popping it into her mouth just as she turned back.  
"Hey!"  
Weiss smirked, which wasn't easy to do with her mouth full. She swallowed.  
"Pay more attention, and you wont lose your cookies."  
It was a familiar ritual between them, which ended the same way it always did. Ruby looked crestfallen that her 8 cookie stack now had 7 cookies. Weiss couldn't help but laugh, and when she did, Ruby's face brightened.

"So how has your day been? I haven't seen you since this morning."  
"Slow. Although it was getting better. That was the fifth one in a row that actually looked like something. It's getting harder though. Like something is pushing back."  
"Are you sure it's something else? You seam to be pretty reluctant to use this part of your semblance."

Weiss was ready to argue, but she didn't. Ruby was right about that. Everyone in her father's family had this power. To her, it had always represented what made her like her father. She had been reluctant enough simply to use her semblance in the beginning. Even though her leaving her family to study at Beacon had felt like a rebellion, Weiss couldn't help but feel like she was just doing what she was because of who she was born to be, not who she wanted to be.

If that was the case, how was she any different than her father?  
"It's just that, this isn't something I wanted. It isn't who I wanted to be."  
"Who did you want to be, Weiss? Who are you right now?"  
She turned to see Ruby looking at her intently, honestly wanting an answer. Weiss leaned her head against the wall, contemplating. Who was she?

For some reason, she found herself thinking about her time in the forest, when she had met Ruby. She scoffed at herself, remembering how she had turned Ruby away, then accepted her over the alternative. She had, in the following weeks, scorned Ruby and her own position, acting like a spoiled rich girl brat. She had changed little in the first month, other than trying to get along with her team.

That had been followed by several months of her teachings and training. A couple of sessions with Yang had proven too much for her. Blake had tried to help her out, but their personalities and ideals had proven to be... conflicting. Ruby, on the other hand, had been openly persistent, always pushing her to be better, to practice harder. Weiss would have required a lot more training before being able to use time distortion glyphs, if it hadn't been for Ruby.

Then, when she had found out Blake was a faunus, followed by the disastrous trip to Mountain Glenn, she had been beaten so easily by the man with the chainsaw. Her anger at that had got her through the subsequent battle with the Grimm in the town square.

So much of who she was had been determined by her failures, as either a person, or a fighter, or a daughter. She was so tired of being determined by her weaknesses, that she had an even harder time finding her strengths. She glanced back over at Ruby, who was still waiting patiently.

"My name is Weiss Schnee. I'm a huntress in training. Part of team RWBY, partner to Ruby Rose. I've been all over the world, fighting Grimm, or with family, or with my team. I've seen horrible, awful things, watched as my family was divided by fear and enemies, thanks to my father's business. I've scoffed at people less fortunate than myself, and been threatened and hated for my position by his side. I've suffered failures so numerous I've lost count," she gave a sideways glance at Ruby, who hadn't moved.

The lengthening shadows covered much of her face, and she couldn't get a good look at her expression. "I've been helped innumerable times, by all manner of people. I rarely do anything for myself, even training. I'm pushed and carried forward by my team. So, Ruby, I'll ask you. Who do you think I am?"

Ruby was silent, her face still hidden. Her hands rested lightly on her knees. Her breathing was easy.  
"You're Weiss Schnee, a huntress in training. You're part of my family, and among the few people I trust the most. You've been the reason why I try as hard as I can as a leader. You push me to be more than I am, and to aim higher than I ever thought possible. Our team is a structure bound so tightly it's become unthinkable to assume what it would be like without one or more of us..... you're the best friend I've ever had. Maybe the only real friend I've ever had."

Weiss was silent. The words had washed over her, her breath easing. she felt strong again. She smiled. "i don't know about the rest. But as for that last part, you have been my one and only friend, since day one. I'll amend myself. i count everyone from our team, and team JNPR as friends. But you were the first."

Ruby leaned forward, the last of the dying light playing across her pale face. Her expression was one of euphoria. Weiss had no idea why she was so happy, but she smiled back.  
Ruby asked, "there should still be time for you to try one more. Wanna give it a go?"

Weiss nodded, standing up. Her steps were strong, and she felt good after the food and conversation. She made her way to the middle of the room as the last of the light faded from the windows, bringing about a soft twilight.

She stood firm, concentrating. The glyph itself came easily. It was steady, without flickering. She breathed.

The glyph began to spin, emitting a pulsing blue light as it did so. Weiss, feeling reluctant to move any farther, forced herself to remember that she wasn't alone. She took one deep breath, then pushed.

Again, the hand appeared from the center of the glyph, beautiful ice-blue fur spreading down the length of the arm that followed. It emerged, growling as it pulled itself to its full height. It stood staring at her, waiting patiently for orders. The glyph faded, and the light quieted. The creature glowed in the night.

Weiss heard the shift of cloth as Ruby stood. she turned to speak.... and the fatigue hit. This time, it was so sudden, she blacked out. The last sound she heard was the mournful keening of her creation as she fell... Into a pair of arms.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

She woke several hours later, finding herself in her bed. She was groggy. She tried to sit up, and her head pounded. As she wiped her eyes, her hand reached for the glass of water she kept next to her bed. It was met with empty air. She tried again. Nothing.

She glanced to her left, and squeaked. Weiss was on the top bunk. The top bunk was Ruby's bunk. She glanced over the edge, looking down into her own bed.... which was empty.

She glanced over at Yang's bunk, which was currently occupied by both Blake and Yang, who had taken to sleeping together after the incident in Mountain Glenn. As far as Weiss knew, they didn't have any sort of romantic relationship, so she found it odd that the two would do that.... which brought her to her current concern. Blake's bunk was also empty. She had put off looking for as long as she could, and now turned to her right.

Sure enough, laying with her back to Weiss, dressed in her pajamas, was Ruby. Weiss also noticed that Ruby's hood was draped over her own body like a blanket. She blushed deeply, and considered trying to slip out of the bed, but she was still groggy. With her currently luck, she would crash to the floor, break an arm or something equally embarrassing. So she decided to simply lay back down. She glanced back at Ruby.

She slept on her right side, both hands splayed out in front of her, one palm up, the other palm down. Her side Rose and fell with her breathing, which shifted from fast to slow as she dreamed. Weiss couldn't see her face, and she was curious as to how she looked. Carefully, she lifted herself over Ruby, trying not to disturb the sheets.

What she saw was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Ruby's face was calm, smooth. Her eyes closed. She looked like she was ready to wake up at any moment. Her mouth was partway open, the air trailing in and out, softly. Her hair was swept to one side, and her pale skin seamed to glow in the dark. Weiss stared at her for a moment. Then, almost guiltily, she kissed her on the cheek.

As she re-positioned herself, she curled one hand over Ruby's stomach, and her face was pressed lightly into her partners back. Sleep was not long in coming, and she dreamed of colors.


End file.
